


Claimed  (Sequal to Screwed)

by Spyder



Category: Wanted (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-05
Updated: 2013-05-05
Packaged: 2017-12-10 12:44:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/786181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spyder/pseuds/Spyder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max's loss is Eddie's gain.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Claimed  (Sequal to Screwed)

When Max ran into Eddie it seemed like a chance meeting, which was exactly how it was supposed to look. It had in fact been so skilfully engineered that he defied anyone to think it was anything else.

Every week a member from Conrad’s team checked their captured weapons into the LAPD Armoury and perhaps because of the proximity to his home, Eddie was usually the one to do it. Max had found that out by carefully hacking into the armoury records, something very few people knew he had the skill to do, which suited him just fine. Despite his size, Max could be very careful indeed and he had no problem with that not being widely known either.

No part of him felt guilty for his sneaking around. He liked Eddie well enough. The guy was a good cop, good company and damn cute in an ‘I’m an asshole’ kind of way. Max was also sure that he was head over heels in love with Conrad Rose, his boss and Max’s lover.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Max was equally certain of the fact that Conrad wanted him right back and on a level that went far beyond sex. Eddie believed Conrad was straight, Conrad believed Eddie was straight too and somewhere in the middle of that was Max, liking Eddie but wanting Conrad more than he had ever wanted anyone before. Even after having him, the craving had not gone away and he knew he could not get enough of the man. Conrad fit into his bed as though he belonged there.

Their first date was spectacular even though it had not started out on that basis. A meal between tentative friends resulted in some of the best sex Max had ever had and with that came the knowledge that he had given Conrad the power to break his heart in two.

Their second date ended up with Conrad fucking him so hard that Max saw stars, Conrad proving how good he was on top. Despite that, a couple of hours later, Max made Conrad beg to be fucked in return and what a sweet sound that had been.

Clearly a relentless top, Conrad bottoming at all was an unexpected bonus and Max did not think he could ever get enough of it. Max was also beginning to think that Conrad had a little more experience at kink than he had earlier suspected too. Max dabbled in domination games himself from time to time although he was too lazy to have a boy on a more regular basis. It took more hard work than people realised and he was happy to troll the clubs when he felt in the mood. In his experience though men like Conrad made excellent masters and, from what he had seen of him so far, men like Eddie Drake made perfect subs - they either had to be tamed first or they melted at the first sign of a true master’s touch and Max suspected that Eddie was the latter, which in his opinion made him better still.

Max could see why Conrad wanted Eddie; there was no doubt the man was sexy. He was also intelligent and attractive, undeniably masculine, and slender but compact with just the right amount of muscle. Not to mention that shoulder length fair hair which looked soft and silky and perfect to grip while he was giving a blow job. There was something too in his manner, despite, or perhaps because of his smart mouth, that said he would be a very good boy indeed.

Max knew that Conrad and Eddie had known each other for a long time and he was sure there were more reasons than that why Conrad wanted him so much but he guessed that was at least part of the attraction.

Timing it perfectly, Max made sure that Eddie had just checked out of the Armoury and was on his way out. Turning a corner, Max ran straight into him.

“Shit, sorry...,” he apologised, then stood back, the perfect quantity of surprise and recognition on his face. “Eddie? Hey, how’s it going?”

Seeing him, the younger man’s face broke into a grin. “Max. Good to see you. It’s not going bad,” he said, as they shook hands.

“We don’t often see you out here.”

“It’s the weekly weapons drop. I sometimes think we keep LA Metro supplied with them.”

“You probably do. You heading off now?”

“Yeah, it’s been a long day, and a painful one. This was not my finest hour,” Eddie said wryly, lifting the bottom of his shirt to show a deep angry graze over his stomach and side. “Slipped and fell chasing a suspect,” he explained, at Max’s questioning glance.

“Did you get him?”

“Oh yeah,” Eddie grinned. “Like they say, you should see the other guy.”

“Would a beer help anaesthetise it? I’ve been feeling like one for the last hour and I wouldn’t mind some company. I’ll buy.”

Eddie’s grin widened. “You said the magic word, my friend. I won’t turn you down.”

“Which one?” Max asked, as they fell into step together. “Beer or I’ll buy?”

“Both are good. Put them in the same sentence and you’re onto a winner.”

Surprised that it had been so easy, Max led him to one of the quieter bars on the block and two beers later the conversation had moved past work, cops and the mundane topics two men getting to know each other talk about and on to more interesting things.

“You married, Max?” Eddie asked him, eyeing his ring.

Max decided on honesty. “I was, a long time ago. It didn’t work out.” He didn’t explain why he kept the ring and Eddie didn’t ask.

“They never do.”

“What about you?” Max asked in return, even though he already knew the answer.

“I’m not the marrying kind,” Eddie replied sardonically. “That’s why I have three ex-wives.”

Max whistled. “That’s an impressive total. Kids?”

“Yeah, a daughter, Irene,” Eddie said proudly. “She’s thirteen and so beautiful I can never believe I helped make her. I’ll never be as good a father as Conrad, but I’m trying.”

Mention of his lover made Max’s insides clench for a moment. He was surprised to find that he had been enjoying Eddie’s company so much he had nearly forgot the reason he was there.

“I envy you being able to do that,” he said honestly. “We never had time for children but you only regret it when you get older.”

“It’s never too late,” Eddie shrugged. “Conrad was thirty-four before he settled down and thirty-seven by the time Tony was born.”

“You and he go back a long way, don’t you,” Max guessed, ignoring the brief pang of jealousy that stabbed at him. He knew the two men had a shared past that went beyond simple work colleagues.

“Yeah, he was my training officer when I was first on the streets. Made my life hell for two years. It was because of him that I joined the Marshall’s service.”

“To get away from him?”

“It was either that or kill him and they tend to frown on that.”

“He was that bad?” Max said incredulously.

“You have no idea. Seemed to turn me into a good cop though.”

“Did you still keep in touch?”

“On and off. Occasionally we had cases that overlapped and we’d have a drink together. When things started going rocky with Lucinda I gave him a shoulder to bitch on once in a while.”

Surprised, Max looked up from his beer. “He doesn’t seem to be the kind of guy to do that.”

“Everyone does sometime,” Eddie shrugged. “After he hired me they’d already separated and since then he’s been rebuilding his life one piece at a time.”

“Has he mellowed any?”

Eddie laughed. “What do you think? He’s a tight ass, controlling, son of a bitch but that still makes him the best cop I’ll ever know.”

Grinning to himself, Max could definitely agree with the first one. As for controlling, Max was beginning to believe that too.

“That’s the impression I got,” he nodded. “That and the fact that you’re all incredibly loyal to him.”

“Most of us,” Eddie murmured, his face suddenly disapproving and it was obvious that Max had touched a nerve.

“Rodriguez,” he said softly.

Eddie looked at him shrewdly and Max knew he had hit the target. From the first moment he had walked into the team’s hideout he knew that Rodriguez was trouble and Eddie clearly felt it too. “How did you know who I meant?”

“Cop intuition, vibes, call it what you like,” Max told him. “He bothers me and it’s hard to say why exactly but there’s a lot of anger there and most of it’s directed at Conrad. He needs to watch his back with that one.”

“I know, but he’s not the kind of man you can tell what to do.”

“I noticed that,” Max agreed. “I don’t think a lot gets past him though.”

“You’d be surprised,” Eddie muttered, offering no explanation as to his meaning.

Comfortable in the younger man’s company, Max decided to move things along a bit. Eddie was easy to be with and did not seem to have a problem with the way the conversation had been going.

“Mind if I ask you a personal question?”

Eddie leaned back in his seat, wincing a little as he stretched out his sore stomach. “Not at all.”

“How did you manage to go through three wives?” Lowering his voice, Max looked at Eddie appraisingly, making it clear what he was thinking. Eddie Drake was enough his type that if Conrad had not eclipsed him, Max may well have gone after the younger man. “You’re a good looking guy, Eddie.”

Eddie’s reaction was surprisingly mild although his blue eyes flashed with something that looked like heat and Max saw the answer to his unspoken question in them. “Well,” he murmured, “that was unexpected.”

Keeping his voice the same low husky tone, Max leaned forward. “If you were mine, I’d keep you all to myself.”

This time he did get a reaction. Eddie looked at him, swallowed, looked away and then back and Max knew he had touched a nerve. 

“Would you?” he said quietly, taking a brief sip of beer as though his mouth was suddenly dry. “And what would you do with me?”

“Anything I wanted to,” Max replied evenly, not taking his eyes off his companion. “Hypothetically, of course.”

He watched the younger man’s eyes darken with hunger and he knew he was right. Eddie might not have wanted him, but he certainly wanted what he had hinted at.

“So, hypothetically, is that something you want in general, or something you want from me?” Eddie asked, face suddenly shuttered, and for the first time Max couldn’t read him at all. He had gone too far. It was time to back off. 

Shaking his head, Max held up his hands in apology. He had confirmation that Eddie wasn’t as straight as Conrad thought but he did not want to chase the man away. “I’m sorry, Eddie, that was way out of line. I was just joking. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.” 

“You didn’t,” Eddie said, too quickly, managing to look relieved and regretful at the same time. “It’s OK. You just surprised me, that’s all. I certainly wasn’t expecting that from you; you don’t seem the type.”

“There’s a type?” Max laughed. 

Eddie shook his head and grinned, his humour seemingly restored. “Alpha male guys like you and Conrad are kinda hard to read sometimes, you know.”

“You don’t class yourself amongst that group?”

“With women, yes.”

“But not with men.” Max didn’t make it a question because really it wasn’t. 

“No, not with men, and why the hell I’m telling you I have no idea.”

“I’m easy to talk to,” Max shrugged and smiled. “When did you find that out?”

The younger man’s laugh was slightly bitter. “A long time ago. I was safe and I was careful but there were things I needed to know about myself, and just things I needed.”

“Because you wanted Conrad so much,” Max stated softly, knowing it was no guess. “Wanted and couldn’t have.”

For a moment Eddie looked stunned. “Shit, Max, how the hell did you know that? Are you psychic on the side?”

“No, just observant,” Max assured him. “When we were working the case I saw the way you looked at him.”

Eddie groaned. “Jesus, am I that obvious?”

“You’re not obvious at all. I’ve been there often enough to recognise the look, that’s all.”

“You’re more observant than he is. Straight guys don’t have a clue.”

This was where Max had to tread carefully. “How do you know he’s straight?”

Eddie barked out a laugh. “Are you kidding? Fifteen years of marriage might have something to do with it.”

“Doesn’t mean a thing,” Max dismissed. “Look at me - and you, for that matter. You’ve got to come up with something better than that.”

Looking suddenly uncomfortable, Eddie sighed. “There’s the fact that I made a pass at him last week and he ignored me.”

“You made a pass at him?” Max repeated, working hard to keep his reaction normal. He hadn’t seen that coming. “Wasn’t that a bit unwise?”

“It was fucking stupid but I couldn’t help myself. He was in his office and he had that ‘I just got laid’ look men get. It nearly killed me, knowing he’d had sex. I didn’t know who with and I didn’t care, I just leaned in close and basically offered him my ass.”

Max nodded, his insides clenched, stunned that Eddie had been so perceptive. He was even more surprised that Eddie would have taken such a chance. The only thing that didn’t surprise him was that Conrad had made no mention of it. Even after knowing him such a short time, Max instinctively knew that Conrad did not cheat on his partners and even after only two dates, that rule applied. “And?”

“Nothing. So I figured I’d better make myself scarce before he got mad. Since then he’s been business as usual as though it never happened. That’s how I know he’s straight.”

“You offered to bend over for him and he did nothing?”

“Not in so many words, but yes, and yes.” Eddie’s eyes suddenly narrowed. “You sound surprised, Max. Do you know something I don’t?”

This was it. The moment when Max could deny it, steer the conversation around to safer things and it would all be forgot. Forgot maybe but not resolved. Conrad would be his and never his and what scared Max so much was that he knew he’d settle for that and one day Conrad would break his heart.

Was it bravery that was making him do this, or cowardice? Max could not really say although he suspected the latter. He had never considered himself to be particularly self sacrificing although there was a power, of sorts, in letting Conrad go.

More importantly, if his plans were truly turned upside down and it seemed that they had been, he had to know that Eddie was worthy of Conrad. If he was going to give Conrad up, and God, that hurt to say, but if he was going to give Conrad to another man, he had to know too that the man was worth how much it was going to hurt him.

Was Eddie Drake worth that?

Reluctantly, Max suspected that he was.

Despite his smart mouth, Max knew instinctively that Eddie was a good man, with depths few saw and even fewer understood. He also recognised the defences Eddie had built around himself against the world - he should do, he had enough himself, as did Conrad, he suspected. 

Keeping his voice steady, Max fixed Eddie’s gaze and the moment passed. “Tell me how you feel about him.”

Eddie frowned, looking uncomfortable. “Max…”

“It’s important, Eddie. I need to know.”

With a small sigh Eddie gave in although he kept his eyes raised defiantly. “I love him.”

Strangely, or perhaps not so, Max had needed to hear it, had needed to see it written in the man’s eyes, and there it was, bright and clear and unable to mistake. “And what would you do, if he asked it?”

This time there was no hesitation. “Anything.”

Max believed him and knew that Eddie Drake belonged to Conrad already. They would give each other what they both needed and he, well, he could always find another lover. Who the hell was he kidding? There would never be another Conrad Rose. 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he said softly. Then took a deep breath and changed things forever. “Eddie, it’s not how you think. Conrad’s not gay but he’s a long way from being straight and he wants you. He’s wanted you for a very long time.”

Across the table Eddie’s expression went from shock to disbelief and back to shock as he searched for the truth in Max’s eyes. Then he blanched and stood abruptly.

“Shit,” he muttered, “I need air,” and almost ran for the door.

Remaining only long enough to finish his last mouthful of beer Max sighed and went after him. He found the younger man in the alley at the side of the bar, leaning against the wall, his eyes closed and his face unreadable.

“Why did you tell me that?” he asked as Max drew near, knowing it was him approaching.

“Because it’s true.”

This time Eddie looked at him, blue eyes opening to reveal pain and hope and a need so great that it made Max uncomfortable just knowing it was there. “How do you know?”

“He told me.” Max moved closer, deeper into the darkness and he realised with a start that Eddie looked beautiful in the shadows, like he belonged there, hopeful and lost, and at that moment he thought he began to see what Conrad wanted so much. 

“My God, it was you,” Eddie breathed, pushing away from the wall to face him, the sudden realisation stark on his face. “It was you he had sex with.”

For the first time Max felt unsure of what to do. He couldn’t deny it but this was not about angering the younger man. All he could do was tell the truth.

“Before I knew how he felt about you.”

“You slept with him,” Eddie persisted, surprisingly little accusation in his voice.

Max sighed, digging his hands deep in his pockets. “Yes, I slept with him,” he confirmed, keeping his voice even, “and now I’m giving him to you.”

There was a moment’s silence and Max thought he could almost hear Eddie’s heart beating. “Why?”

“Because he loves you,” Max answered simply and leaned back against the wall, suddenly needing the support. His half formed plan of meeting Eddie and finding a reason to dislike him enough to keep Conrad to himself had not worked. He had no right to keep them apart. His own sudden conviction of that left him shaken and he wanted Eddie to go away and leave him alone but instead the younger man was suddenly in front of him, startlingly close.

“Max, what would you do, if he asked it?”

Max gave a bitter half smile, the difference in their heights making him look down a little. “Anything.”

“God,” Eddie breathed, his hand finding Max’s chest and pressing it there, hot and heavy through his clothes. “You love him too. Why the hell are you doing this?”

Grateful for the contact but not sure why, Max searched Eddie’s face but could see no pity, only sympathy. “Because he doesn’t love me,” he said, cursing his voice for cracking. “If you weren’t around he might have done, one day, but you are and I can’t compete with that.”

“I’m sorry,” Eddie whispered, and Max knew that he was.

He sighed. “Yeah, me too. I’ve known him long enough to want him to be happy and if it’s you that does that for him then I have to live with it. Just so you know though,” he warned, his voice turning into a low growl, “if you drop him or hurt him in any way, I’ll be right there and you won’t get the chance again. If there is a next time, I won’t be letting him go.”

Slowly, Eddie withdrew his hand. “There won’t be a next time,” he promised tightly. “If this is real and I do stand any chance of getting him, I’ll never let him go.”

“You’d better not.” 

“Does Conrad know you’re doing this?”

“Not yet. He will tomorrow.”

Suddenly Max needed to go home, get drunk, anything but be here with the man he had just given his lover to. Without a backwards glance, he started to walk away.

“Fuck, Max, what am I going to do?”

Stopping, Max turned back and regarded the younger man closely. “Claim him,” he said with a shrug, “or if you have any sense, make him claim you.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

Max smiled faintly, suddenly and unexplainably tired. “You’ll find out.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Conrad sighed and rubbed his eyes. They stung, partly from strain and partly from tiredness. At forty-nine his eyesight was still perfect but sometimes the day took it out on them. And him.

His head throbbed with the beginnings of a headache and he was torn between wanting the peace and quiet of home and wanting to spend time with Max. Seeing Max would mean sex and whilst that was a very good thing indeed, Conrad needed to unwind a little first before he could begin to relax properly.

What didn’t help was that he knew he’d been a bastard this last week. Although he hated to admit it things had been getting to him lately and his team had been treading on egg shells around him, apart from Eddie, of course, who seemed determined to grind them into tiny little pieces at every opportunity. The rest of them very wisely left him alone, just doing their jobs with what was becoming their usual efficiency.

For the last week Conrad had desperately tried to put the issue of Eddie out of his mind but that was not easy when he saw the man every day. Eddie Drake seemed to be a permanent fixture in his life whether he wanted it or not. Somewhat ungraciously he often thought that was not, although deep down he knew how much he wanted the man around. It had been easier before Conrad knew that Eddie was not as straight as he thought he was. Although he didn’t exactly come out and say it, Eddie’s meaning had been pretty clear and now Conrad didn’t know what the hell to do, other than stay as far away from him as he could until he had decided what to do about Max.

The problem was that he liked Max, liked him a lot. The sex was fantastic, their time together was comfortable and easy and Max was now a known and trusted quantity. Things were simple between them. There were no power struggles and they were both secure enough about their sexuality that they had no problem bending over for each other. He did not deny that there was the potential for complicated but that, he suspected, was a long way off.

Eddie, on the other hand, was complicated in ways that made his head hurt and nothing had even happened between them. Newly divorced and still finding his feet as a single father, there were so many reasons why Conrad was not ready for complicated yet. Nothing would ever change how much he wanted Eddie but he had spent too long believing that nothing would ever happen between them. Besides, there was always the chance that Eddie had been yanking his chain and Conrad had no intention of investing hope in something that was never going to happen.

“Hey, you busy?” The object of his thoughts poked his head around the door.

“No, just about to head out. You speak to Arnott?”

Eddie nodded, coming in. “He’s clean. He hasn’t seen our boy since 1989 and is very keen to keep it that way.”

Not questioning Eddie’s instinct as a cop, Conrad jotted down a quick reminder to remove the shoe salesman from his list of potential contacts for their quarry. “Sensible man,” he said wryly, then realised that Eddie had made no move to leave. “You want me for something else?”

“Um, yeah.”

“Go on,” Conrad said, going over to the nearest filing cabinet, his back to Eddie. “I’m listening.”

“I was wondering if you’d like to… come for a drink with me.”

His mind still on the case, Conrad didn’t realise straight away what Eddie had said. When it sank in, he turned to look at the younger man incredulously. “Did you just ask me out?”

Eddie stuck his chin out defiantly, meeting his stare. “That’s what it sounded like to me.”

Something in Eddie’s impossibly blue eyes made Conrad take it one step further. “On a date?”

“Yep.”

“And what gives you the idea that I date men?” Conrad growled, closing the cabinet. Instinct told him to keep his leanings quiet for now although he wasn’t sure why. At least until he knew Eddie’s motives anyway.

“Lucky guess,” Eddie murmured, clearly not going to back down.

Conrad had seen that look on his face before, had seen it on and off since Eddie had been assigned to him at the tender age of twenty-two. It was determination and the blunt refusal to be beaten down by him and suddenly Conrad knew that he was in trouble. 

Taking a step back he saw the truth written on Eddie’s face. He knew. God knows how he knew but he knew. Not about Max maybe, but somehow Eddie knew damn well that guessing didn’t come into it. Conrad liked men and, even worse, Conrad liked him.

“Eddie…” he warned, suddenly lost for words, and hoped that the threat in his voice would be enough to make the man back down. He wanted Eddie, but on his own terms, when he was ready and not before. This was too soon, way too soon but, God, Eddie was so fucking sexy he made it hard to think.

At his step back, Eddie moved forward until they were face to face. Not moving, hardly breathing, Conrad wondered why he could not break the spell that suddenly held him.

“Oh fuck it,” Eddie said roughly, his voice suddenly thick. “What the hell.”

Leaning forward, Eddie placed a soft kiss on Conrad’s lips, pulled back, swallowed and then did it again, lingering this time. And Conrad let him, didn’t stop him, didn’t want to, his heart suddenly racing as Eddie’s lips claimed him. Unable to help himself, Conrad opened his mouth, allowing Eddie inside, suddenly desperate to taste the younger man, to know how that moustache would feel against his skin, how his lips felt. 

Soft, he discovered, so very soft. With a groan, Conrad felt himself get hard, the blood rushing to his cock so quickly it almost made him dizzy, or perhaps that was just Eddie’s tongue, Eddie’s scent, the small needy noise he made when Conrad took over the kiss and explored his mouth deeply in return, tasting everything he could.

Although he didn’t want to, Conrad could not help but compare this to Max, how he tasted, how he kissed. Max’s kisses were hot and practiced, good on every level possible, but Eddie’s mouth burned with a desperation that scared Conrad in its intensity and suddenly it was too much.

Breaking away, Conrad was unprepared for the wave of anger that washed over him. There had been so many times since his divorce that Eddie could have done this. Why was he doing this now when to have him he had to hurt Max? 

Ignoring how good Eddie’s kiss wet lips looked and how much he wanted to go back for more, Conrad took hold of Eddie’s shirt and slammed him into the wall, knocking the air out of him.

“What the hell was that?” he snapped, his head reeling. 

Even though Conrad knew he probably could, Eddie made no move to break away. “You don’t know?” he croaked, breathlessly.

Despite the fact that they were in his office and anyone coming past would be able to see, Conrad moved in closer, keeping Eddie pinned. Eddie’s mouth tasted so good and he wanted more but it was not that simple. It could never be that simple. “Don’t play with me, Eddie. You have no idea what you’re doing.”

“I’ve got a pretty good idea that I was kissing you,” Eddie replied huskily, his breath surprisingly sweet. “Was it that bad?”

With Eddie so close, it was almost impossible to think but Conrad knew he had to finish this. He had to know. “What the hell’s going on here, Eddie? What do you want?”

Eddie didn’t hesitate. “You. Whatever way I can have you.”

His anger was giving way to something dangerous but Conrad brushed caution aside. Eddie was arousing every dominant instinct he had and after so long of being hidden it was so difficult to damp them down again. “Be careful what you wish for,” he growled harshly, pushing his hips forward and rubbing their groins hard together. He wanted Eddie to know how hard he was, wanted him to know how tenuous his control might be. “You may regret it.” 

Still a little breathless, Eddie groaned and his eyes flickered shut briefly as Conrad pressed into him. Surprisingly, there was an answering hardness that Conrad had not expected. For good measure he rubbed again as Eddie licked his lips nervously. “You can’t say that, not without telling me why,” Eddie whispered, eyes suddenly wide, as though it had just occurred to him that things were not going quite how he had imagined, or planned. Whatever he had expected from their kiss, this was clearly not it. 

Taking Eddie’s chin firmly, Conrad tilted his head back, the grip nearly hard enough to leave bruises. “You’re playing with fire,” he hissed. “You have no idea what you do to me, Eddie. You couldn’t even begin to imagine what I think when I look at you. You have no idea what I want.”

“I’m beginning to guess.”

“You’re not even close,” Conrad told him menacingly, letting go of his chin to stroke down his chest, unerringly finding a nipple through his tee-shirt and squeezing it hard. “I want to see how pretty you are on your knees, how you look wrapped in leather and chains, with red stripes decorating your back. I want to make you hurt and cry and beg and need me so fucking badly you’ll not survive a night without my touch. I want to be your lover, your daddy, your master and everything else you could ever need. I want to tame you and love you and put a collar around your neck so that the whole world knows you’re mine. Now do you get it?”

Eddie’s mouth dropped open. “Fuck,” he whispered. “I never knew.”

“Fires burn,” Conrad said bleakly, before claiming Eddie’s mouth in one last drawn out kiss, the shocked ‘O’ of his lips perfect for him to plunder. There was no resistance and when he slid his tongue into Eddie’s mouth he heard that small needy groan again and knew that no matter what happened, he didn’t want to never hear that again.

When Conrad pulled away it was to back off completely. Suddenly he was too hot, his office was oppressive and airless and he desperately needed to get out of there and away from Eddie Drake.

Without a backwards glance, Conrad fled and headed straight for his truck, afraid that if he stayed he would not be able to stop. He needed to get out of there, needed to calm down, needed to take back those words, no matter how true they had been.

He drove to Max’s almost on autopilot, needing the big man to help him clear his head. His anger was gone, burned out by his own stupidity but Eddie knew everything now and although there was no doubt the man still wanted him, Conrad was pretty sure that he had ruined any chance he might have had to make Eddie his.

And that was the problem, he realised. That was why he had been so angry. He didn’t want part of Eddie, he wanted all of him. Kisses and dates were not enough. He wanted to own Eddie, completely and utterly, and he could not settle for anything less. Conrad wanted everything.

By the time he got to Silver Lake he had replayed the scene over and over in his head and each time found less comfort in it. He had been monumentally stupid but he was pragmatic enough to know that it was done. The cat was well and truly out of the proverbial bag and there was nothing he could do about it. What he needed now was something to make him forget about it. Something hard and brutal and, more importantly, something that was going to hurt.

Max opened his door on the second knock. “Hey, Connie, you’re early. Are you OK?” he asked, standing aside for Conrad to go in.

“I need you to fuck me, Max,” Conrad said roughly. “Right now.”

Lust flared in the big man’s eyes but he shook his head and moved back. “Slow down, babe, we need to talk.”

Pushing that to one side, Conrad stalked towards him and pulled Max’s head in close for a fierce kiss. Whatever it was, it could wait. Max looked good enough to eat and Conrad was suddenly very hungry indeed.

“Later. You’re going to fuck me first.”

Max searched his face for a moment as though suddenly he didn’t know him at all but lust won out and he swallowed heavily and nodded. “Come on then.”

“No,” Conrad stopped him. “I want it right here, hard and dirty in your hallway. Then we’ll talk.”

“Jesus, Connie, what’s got into you?”

“Nothing yet but I’m waiting.”

Conrad watched Max’s eyes change, darken with hunger, as he had known they would. It was no surprise that Max liked hard and dirty.

“You want it, you got it,” Max promised, his naturally husky voice even rougher than normal. “Just don’t expect to be able to sit down tomorrow.”

Not waiting for a reply, Max turned him and pushed him down over the hall stand with a tight hand to the back of his neck.

“Yes,” Conrad hissed, strangely needing the domination. He had no idea why it was suddenly necessary but he was not a man to over analyse when he did not have to. Need was need.

“You and I are going to have one hell of a talk when you’ve got this out of your system,” Max growled as he reached around and unfastened Conrad’s jeans, pushing them down only far enough to expose his ass. His cock sprang free, hard and heavy, and Conrad caught his breath as it bobbed unsupported, nothing to touch it.

“I ought to take you dry and bareback for this,” Max threatened, “but I don’t want to rip my skin off. Stay there while I get lube and don’t you fucking move.”

Conrad obeyed, surprising himself by that. God, this was perfect; not something he normally needed but today had not exactly been normal.

Anticipation raced through him. He needed to lose his focus, to be hurt, to become nothing for a while, and more than that he needed Max’s long thick cock inside him to burn away what he had done. It was using Max, he knew, but he felt no guilt for that. It wasn’t as if the big guy wasn’t getting something out of it, after all.

There was a large mirror in front of him and he looked at himself curiously - bent over, fully clothed, ass exposed, waiting to be fucked, and wondered who he was and if Eddie would recognise him right now. He was not altogether sure that he recognised himself.

When he heard Max’s footsteps he closed his eyes and rested his head on one arm so he could avoid the mirror. There were things about himself he was not sure he wanted to see just yet.

“Right where I left you,” Max murmured approvingly, and there was the sound of his zip opening. “Do you know how tempting it is to say ‘good boy’?”

“Don’t you fucking dare,” Conrad objected, more amused than irritated. 

“I bet you’ve done it though. How did it feel to be down your knees, calling another man sir while you begged for his cock?”

“I’ve never…”

“Yes, you have,” Max replied easily, knowingly, sweeping his protest aside. “All good tops have. How did it feel?” he repeated, shoving two well lubed fingers deep into him without any warning.

“Good,” Conrad conceded through gritted teeth. God, that felt perfect.

“How many times did you do it?”

“Just the once. Fuck, Max, I don’t want prep.”

“Don’t worry, that’s all you’re getting. I don’t want to split you open but I think you want this to hurt, so it’s going to.”

There was the unmistakable sound of a packet being ripped open, then the slick of latex and lube.

Conrad held his breath, knowing he was tense but not able to do anything about it. He wasn’t entirely sure if this was about needing pain or some fucked up kind of punishment for what he had done but that didn’t make the need go away.

“Open up,” Max said tightly and Conrad felt the head of his cock push against his hole. When the outer muscle protested and gave way, Conrad squeezed his eyes shut even tighter.

The inner one was not so forgiving. “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Conrad gasped, as Max forced his way inside and for a moment the pain was unbearable. He wanted to scream, he wanted the fucking thing out of his ass right now and, God, he wanted it deep and hard inside him even more.

“Hurting, baby? I warned you.” Max’s voice was strained but held very little sympathy.

“Don’t stop,” Conrad hissed through gritted teeth.

“Why would I do that?” Max said, gripping his hips tightly and almost viciously pushed in the rest of the way, making Conrad howl. 

“This what you wanted?”

Gasping, Conrad nodded as he tried to ride out the burn, not surprised to feel that his eyes were wet and he wondered what the hell he was doing. Then, just as he was starting to adjust, Max pulled out and then slammed back in, making it burn all over again.

“So fucking tight,” he hissed. “I don’t think I’ve ever felt an ass this tight before.”

Unable to help himself Conrad let out a yelp. 

“Good?”

“Fuck, yeah,” he managed.

Seated deep within him, Max bent low over his back and nuzzled into his neck, nipping the tender skin there sharply, not too hard but enough to get Conrad’s attention. “Open your eyes,” he instructed firmly. “Look at yourself.”

Reluctantly, Conrad obeyed and there he was, tears around his eyes and pain on his face. Max’s eyes met his in the reflection. “You look so good like this,” Max murmured, punctuating his words with small, painful thrusts. “So beautiful on the end of my cock. If I had my way I’d keep you here forever. But I don’t always get my way,” he added softly, but Conrad was in no state to understand what he meant by that.

“Max, please…” Conrad pleaded, feeling his body adjusting. Soon it wouldn’t hurt at all and he needed it to, badly. They could talk about whatever was bothering Max after but for now he didn’t want to wait any longer.

“Are you begging?” Max said with a touch of mockery. “Is Conrad Rose actually begging for cock? I think that makes you my bitch. Wanna be my bitch, baby?”

Conrad bared his teeth. “Fine, I’m your bitch. Just fuck me, Max.”

Max looked at him for a moment through hooded eyes and stood back up, gripping his hips in a bruising grip. “Then you’d better hold on. This is going to be wild.”

Taking his advice, Conrad took hold of the sides of the unit as Max withdrew and quickly thrust back into him. Then he did it again, harder, starting a brutal pace that had Conrad breathless and moaning, desperate for more.

“You’d better be able to come from cock,” Max growled, thrusting harder, “because you don’t get to touch yourself. You’re just going to take it like a good bitch does.”

Later, Conrad promised himself, he’d make Max pay for that but right now it was just too fucking good to argue with him. Max was brushing his prostate with every thrust, deliberately not hitting it yet but not far off, and Conrad knew that if he wanted to he’d be able to come from it. 

The mix of pleasure and pain from his abused passage was perfect and Conrad didn’t want it to stop. Behind him, Max powered into him, their eyes locked together in the mirror and Conrad found he couldn’t tear his gaze away and it seemed at that moment that Max was part of him, joined by more than simply cock and ass.

As though recognising something in Conrad’s eyes that he did not want to see, Max changed the angle and hit his prostate dead on. Unprepared for the sudden explosion of light and sensation, Conrad swore sharply as his balls tightened and pulsed come over Max’s furniture. 

“Shit,” he panted. “Jesus, Max.”

Allowing him no respite, Max grinned ferally. “I hope you don’t think we’re done yet.” Not waiting for an answer, he pushed Conrad’s head down back onto his arm. “You’d better hang on.”

Conrad buried his head and hung on for dear life as Max pounded into him, harder than he had before. He was panting and moaning like a girl and he couldn’t give a shit. This was what he had wanted when he demanding fucking; to be a hole for his lover, nothing more. Max’s cock no longer hurt but Conrad knew he’d still be feeling this for a day or two, which was fine by him.

A few thrusts more and Max hissed, slamming into him one last time before Conrad felt the pulse and throb of the big man’s orgasm deep inside him.

With a long groan, Max slumped down over Conrad’s sweaty tee-shirt. “God,” he whispered. “Are you OK?”

Getting his breath back, Conrad grunted his assent not ready to speak just yet but gave a low moan when Max pulled out of him and moved off.

With shaking arms Conrad hitched his pants up as far as he could before sinking bonelessly to the floor, his back against the hall stand, not bothering to fasten them. His ass throbbed, he felt drained and now it was over he felt ashamed of himself for using Max like that.

He heard Max quickly dispose of the condom and straighten himself up and then Max flopped down beside him. 

“Want to tell me what that was all about?” he asked, his voice breathless and husky but surprisingly calm for a man who had just fucked Conrad’s brains out.

For a moment Conrad’s mind raced as he searched for something that would explain his behaviour but Max deserved better than that and he knew it. No matter now painful, he would give him nothing less than the truth.

“Eddie,” he murmured, looking across to his lover. “Eddie came on to me and I wasn’t expecting it. I reacted badly.”

Max nodded as though unsurprised. “Did you fuck him?” he asked evenly but Conrad saw the flash of hurt deep in his dark eyes.

“You know me better than that, Max,” Conrad denied, “but I can’t say I didn’t want to. He kissed me, nothing more.”

“And?” Max prompted softly, when he fell silent.

Conrad looked down at his hands. “I couldn’t handle it. I like this, I like what we have.”

“But you love him.”

“I got angry,” Conrad continued, not ready to acknowledge that Max was right. “Couldn’t help myself. I pushed him up against the wall and told him what I wanted. Everything that I wanted.”

“Let me guess - collars and whips and chains?”

“You know?” Conrad asked in surprise although he should have known that Max saw beyond what was put in front of him.

Max gave a wry shrug. “Been there and done it. I play occasionally. I certainly knew what you wanted the first time I saw you look at him. What was his reaction?”

“I don’t know,” Conrad admitted, still processing Max’s admission. “I didn’t stay around long enough to find out. I just needed it burning out of me. I used you, Max, and I’m sorry.”

With a sigh, Max reached for his hand and held it tightly. “Did you hear me complaining? I loved seeing you like that. If I’d have been a better man, I’d have turned you down.”

Conrad looked at the long fingers wrapped around his, then up to his lover’s face. “You’re the best man I know,” he murmured, fighting back the urge to kiss him. “I shouldn’t have used you like that - or brought another man into this.”

There was a long pause and when he spoke, Max’s eyes were unbelievably sad. “Baby, Eddie was between us long before I asked you out for that steak. I know how you feel about him and I know that nothing I do is going to change that.” Max raised his hand to his lips and kissed it. “That’s why we can’t keep doing this.”

“Max, don’t say it,” Conrad whispered, his insides clenching as the meaning of Max’s words sank in. How the hell had everything gone so wrong? 

“I have to, babe. I’m letting you go. We have to stop doing this, because if we don’t I’m going to love you more than I can get over - more than I already do.”

Stricken, Conrad realised how seriously he had misjudged the situation. Max had made himself vulnerable, for him, in the hope that Conrad’s feelings would change and now they both knew that was never going to happen.

“Oh God, Max, I’m….”

“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry,” Max cut in, and reached up to stroke a thumb across his lips. “I knew what I was doing when we started this. I should have finished it after that first night but I didn’t, so there’s no one else to blame. Besides, you need Eddie, not me. I know what you want from him, and that’s not something I can give you.”

“They’re just games. I can live without them,” Conrad said stubbornly.

Max smiled sadly. “I know, but can you live without him?”

“He’s probably on his way to Cleveland after what I told him.”

“He wants you, Connie. He’d do anything to have you - anything. I think you might find you haven’t shaken him up quite as much as you think you have.”

“Why can’t I love you both?”

With a sigh, Max put his arm around him and drew him close, kissing his brow. “Because life isn’t like that, babe, and you know it.” 

Leaning into Max’s comforting warmth, Conrad knew he was right, and he hated it. To have Eddie he had to lose Max. He was far too old to cry ‘unfair’ but that did not stop it from being any less true. 

“What do we do now?” he asked, not wanting something so good to end on a sour note but knowing that he had no say in it now. Max had the right to decide where to go from there.

Shifting a little, Max tilted Conrad’s face up and brushed their lips together. “We are going to go to bed and make love for as much of the night as we can and in the morning I’m going to kiss you and say goodbye and try to move on.”

“You make it sound so easy,” Conrad whispered, relief flooding through him that he did not have to leave right then. Strange though it would be to know that this was their last time together, he felt too vulnerable, too fragile to walk out of Max’s life that moment, after what they had just done. More importantly, he needed them to end on gentleness not something so frantic and brutal.

Max gave a little shrug and only his eyes showed what this was costing him. “It isn’t, but it’s all I can do.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, baby, me too.

They stayed there for a while until they gathered the energy to move and it was only when they were half way up the stairs that Conrad remembered something. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Nothing important, babe,” Max replied softly, taking him by the hand. “It doesn’t matter now.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

The first time Eddie saw Conrad Rose he thought the man was the hottest thing he had ever seen. After two weeks in his company, Eddie still thought Conrad was hot, he also thought he was a total pain in the ass and the sooner the man was out of his life, the better. 

There had been rumours at the Academy about Rose, and Eddie had somehow known that if there was a bastard out there, it would just be his luck that he’d get saddled with him. True to form Eddie was assigned to the tough ass although it did not take him long to discover that Conrad was simply very good at what he did and expected no less from the people around him, be they rookies or experienced cops with years under their belt. He demanded perfection and seemed to be completely unaware that Eddie wanted to murder and fuck him in equal amounts.

It wasn’t even that Conrad was particularly handsome. He was attractive, sure, with his narrow face and occasionally sneering expressive mouth, but to Eddie he was the personification of sex on two long lean legs and if Conrad had made any kind of move on him, Eddie would have bent over at the speed of sound. 

What Eddie had reckoned without was falling in love and when he did eventually get his wish and left the LAPD behind, it was for deeper reasons than just Conrad’s hard ass attitude. Being close to Conrad every day was slowly killing him. He was a masochist, yes, but that had limits and he refused to pine away over a man he could never have.

Three marriages and a much harder heart later, Eddie still found it hard to believe that he was working for the man again. Clearly his masochism had less limits these days than he had previously thought.

Looking at Conrad across the squad room, Eddie tried to focus on what was being said and for the first time since joining the team had trouble paying attention. Trying to concentrate he ran a hand through his messy hair knowing he looked like shit. He’d spent most of the night tossing and turning, Conrad’s words running through his head over and over again and when he had finally gone to sleep it seemed no time later before the alarm was blaring and he had to drag himself out of bed. 

I want to be your lover, your daddy, your master and everything else you could ever need. 

How did he even begin to process that? They had known each other for so long but he had never imagined Conrad wanted so much from him although he should have known that Conrad liked to be in control; Eddie had met enough men like him in his time. Despite three failed marriages and countless women in his bed, Eddie had a secret - he loved being put down on his knees by a dominant man and, he was just beginning to realise, they did not come much more dominant than Conrad.

Rubbing his stubbly chin, Eddie tried to concentrate and not look like he was staring. His usual banter was gone and he waited quietly for instructions. When Conrad told him to go and interview inmates who had shared a cell in prison with their escaped target, he merely nodded, said ‘yes, sir’ and went, not caring that he’d left a few open mouths behind him.

Conrad had looked tired and drawn and Eddie wondered if Max had ended it between them as he had promised. He thought about ringing the big guy but decided against it. Max had loved Conrad knowing that he would never have him and had given him up so that Eddie could. That kind of sacrifice took a courage Eddie was not sure he possessed. If Conrad was his, he’d fight tooth and nail to keep him.

Except that Conrad was not his. The man had merely nodded to him when he got in that morning, taking in his dishevelled state without comment and had made no mention of the night before. Eddie felt like he was in some weird kind of limbo, not knowing what to do.

Claim him, Max had said, or make him claim you.

Eddie sighed as he turned onto the interstate. 

How the hell did he do that?

 

 

Two days later he was none the wiser. Conrad still looked tired and Eddie suspected he was sleeping no better than Eddie was himself. They had spoken but only to do with work and when they went out Conrad always seemed to partner himself with Jimmy or Rodney.

If it were not for his eyes Eddie would have begun to suspect he had imagined the whole thing but those intense, knowing green eyes told a different story. Every time they looked at him they burned with hunger and need for all the things Conrad had told him he wanted. 

But how the hell did Eddie go about telling Conrad that he wanted those things too when the man wouldn’t let him near?

Claim him, or make him claim you.

Maybe Max was right. Maybe that was exactly what Eddie had to do.

Which was how, at nine o’clock at night, he came to be standing on Conrad’s front porch, nervously ringing the doorbell.

He was clean everywhere it was possible for a man to be; freshly shaved, hair tidy and dressed in the smartest clothes he possessed. For once he had abandoned his trademark jeans for a pair of tight fitting black canvas pants and a fitted cream embroidered shirt that he’d always thought was a bit too fancy but he’d kept anyway just for the hell of it.

After a moment, he saw a blurred shape through the glass in the door and when it opened Conrad looked at him in surprise. 

“Going somewhere?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at Eddie’s appearance.

Eddie met his eyes easily, nodding, refusing to be intimidated. “Yep, and I’ve just got there.”

Conrad looked him over for another moment, his eyes unreadable, before stepping aside. “Then you’d better come in.”

As expected the house was comfortably masculine, neat but not annoyingly so with a few kids things dotted about, reminding Eddie that Tony and Millie were regular visitors.

“Nice place,” he said, looking around. It beat his house by a mile but mostly Eddie spent more time at the bar than in his home, which was a pretty sad reflection on his life in general.

“Thanks,” Conrad replied shortly, waving him into the lounge, then turned and fixed him with a wary stare. “Eddie, what are you doing here?”

“I think we need to talk, don’t you.”

Conrad ran his hand through his short hair, looking more distracted than Eddie had seen on him in years. “This isn’t a good time for me, right now. I don’t think this is a conversation I’m ready to have yet.”

Brushing his protest aside, Eddie faced him full on, not willing to be turned away now. “What if I’m ready to have it,” he challenged. “You’re the one who pushed me up against a wall; made me so hard I nearly came in my pants and then ran off that damn quick you almost left tyre tracks. Did I kiss so badly?”

It was with a certain sense of satisfaction that Eddie watched Conrad’s expression change, softening to something new, and Eddie knew without doubt that the man still wanted him.

Gotcha, he thought triumphantly.

“God, no. It wasn’t your fault, Eddie, it was mine,” Conrad said with a barely perceptible sigh. “There were… complications.”

Wandering over to the mantle, Eddie picked up a picture of Conrad with his children. In it he looked happy and relaxed and Eddie felt a pang of regret that he had seen Conrad like that so few times over the years. Even when the team occasionally went out, Conrad was always on the alert for trouble, never fully relaxed and it was Eddie’s considered opinion that Conrad needed to unwind and forget about work for a while. What he needed was some attention and more importantly, Eddie suspected, he needed to be loved. Not that the man would ever admit that last one.

“Yeah, I know,” he said casually, replacing the picture and glancing back at Conrad. “Max. You don’t need to worry; he told me everything.”

For a moment Conrad looked stunned, as if he had never considered that the two of them would have ever talked. Then he shook his head, a sardonic smile appearing briefly on his lips. “That’s the kind of thing he’d do. Then I guess you know we’re not seeing each other any more.”

Eddie nodded, grateful that Conrad hadn’t asked when he and Max had spoken. Conrad Rose was not a man who liked being manipulated and Eddie suspected he would not take the news of Max’s interference kindly.

“Yeah. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”

That earned him an odd look but Eddie ignored it. Eddie had no problem with Max - so long as it was truly over between them.

“I just needed a little time to get my head around all of this - to get over him.”

“I know,” Eddie murmured, moving closer, “and I gave it you, but your time’s up, Connie, I’m claiming you.”

“You’re what?” Conrad exclaimed, his voice husky with something Eddie hoped was desire and not budding irritation. Sometimes it was hard to tell and Conrad Rose had never been an easy man to read.

What the hell. Eddie had spent long enough wanting, far too many nights needing what Conrad had to give. It was now or never. “Max told me to claim you,” he said softly, wondering if Conrad would taste the same this time, “or make you claim me. That’s kinda hard when you haven’t spoken to me properly for three days. I decided to push things along a bit.”

He watched Conrad’s eyes darken, his mouth tighten almost nervously. “After what I told you I wanted?”

Eddie smiled, close enough to kiss now but still not touching. He felt surprisingly calm now that he was finally there. “Yes, after all of that,” he agreed serenely, jamming his hands in his back pockets. It was either that or touch and he wanted Conrad to make the first move. “Jesus, Connie, I’ve been yours for the taking since the first day we met. Didn’t you realise that?” 

“Apparently not,” Conrad murmured, his face a mixture of confusion and shock as though he suddenly realised the enormity of what he had just learned. “I never knew.”

Eddie shrugged. “Why should you have? I never told you. It doesn’t change anything.”

“Eddie, if we do this… If I take one single step to you, I won’t ever be able to let you go.”

“What makes you think that I want you to let me go?”

“You don’t know what…”

“I know exactly what,” Eddie interrupted firmly, his heart giving a lurch. What the hell did he have to do to convince Conrad that he was serious? And then, suddenly, he knew. “You told me what you want,” he continued, capturing Conrad’s trouble gaze and holding it, “well, now it’s my turn. I want to belong to you, Connie, day and night. After your kids, I want to be the first thing you think of; when you wake up I want to be the one you reach for and the one you kiss before you go to sleep. I want to be yours, Con - your lover, your boy, your slave and whatever else you need me to be in between.”

Taking a step back, Eddie sank to his knees and clasped his hands behind his back. His posture was as good as he could make it after so long out of practice but he didn’t think Conrad would be a stickler over things like that anyway.

Casting his eyes downwards so that all he could see were Conrad’s boots, he whispered simply, “Please, sir, I’m yours. If you want me.”

Whatever happened now, he could not take those words back and if everything went wrong at least he had tried.

Struggling to keep calm, Eddie waited for a reaction then Conrad was down on one knee in front of him. His chin was taken in a gentle grip and he did not resist when his head was tilted up to meet Conrad’s intense gaze.

Eddie swallowed but did not move, hardly dared to breathe as Conrad searched for the truth in his eyes, on his face, in his heart. And somehow Conrad saw everything, knew everything, knew about the nights he had spent on the end of other men’s whips, waiting for the only one he really wanted to claim him.

At last he spoke, rubbing a thumb across Eddie’s cheekbone, the touch slight and yet more possessive than Eddie had ever imagined a touch could be.

“Of course I want you,” Conrad told him softly. “I’ve always wanted you but after I told you those things I didn’t know how to begin to talk to you. I was so sure I’d lost you. I kept waiting for you to ask for a transfer.”

At last Eddie understood. Strangely it had never occurred to him that Conrad would be thinking that. He always thought that Conrad had all the answers and it was good to realise that he didn’t, that he was just as unsure sometimes as the rest of them.

“I kept waiting for you to talk to me. After everything you told me… I needed to know it was the truth and not just something you said to wind me up. That’s why I’m here - I had to know. I didn’t want to rush you but it was so hard. After what you said… It was all I could think about.”

Aware that babbling was doing nothing for his tough guy image, Eddie decided he didn’t actually care. Conrad knew him inside and out and considering he was the one on his knees it was probably a bit late to worry about it.

“I’m sorry,” Conrad murmured, his voice deep and soft and Eddie knew that he was lost. All the man had to do was speak and Eddie was his. Probably always had been.

As though a weight had been lifted from his mind, Conrad’s expression softened and when he spoke he changed Eddie’s world forever. “Do you know how in love with you I am?”

Eddie was sure his heart had stopped beating at the husky words. Despite Max’s assurance he had not really believed that Conrad felt that way about him. “Oh,” he said, struck dumb, words suddenly deserting him. “Oh.”

With a slow smile, Conrad leaned in and pressed the lightest of kisses to his lips. “I love you,” he whispered on them. Another kiss, another whisper. “I want you.”

Moving back a little, Conrad pulled Eddie’s arms from behind his back and encouraged them up and around his neck, his smile widening at Eddie’s open mouthed surprise.

“Later I want to know all about the games you’ve played and what you’ve done before, but not now. This is just about you and me, ok?”

It was the last thing Eddie expected and when he nodded, Conrad inched closer, slipping his arms around Eddie’s waist. Conrad smelled rich, like musky sandalwood and so damn good that Eddie would have been happy just breathing him in.

“Please,” he begged shamelessly, suddenly breathless, knowing what he wanted but unsure of his eloquence considering that his brain seemed to be temporarily shutting down. “God, please.”

“Please what, baby?”

“Christ, anything. Anything you want.”

Shaking his head, Conrad kissed his cheek, sliding his lips across to his ear. “Not what I want, darling, what you want. Tell me what you want and it’s yours.”

Darling.

God. How was he going to survive this? 

Conrad’s mouth started doing obscene things to his neck, making it hard to think. In the end, he managed, “I want to sleep with you tonight, wake up next to you.”

“Hmmm, is that all?”

“It’s not even close, but...”

Abandoning his neck, Conrad came back to look at him, eyebrows raised. “But?”

“If I’m rushing you; if you want to wait…”

He let his voice trail off, not believing what he was saying, but needing to take the pressure off Conrad, aware that he had pushed things along. In the end though the choice was Conrad’s. It always would be.

“I don’t want to wait,” Conrad told him with a soft growl, pressing his hips forward, leaving Eddie in no doubt that he was hard. “Not now. I’ve waited nearly twenty years for you and that’s long enough. Just be very sure you want this because there’s no going back.”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“Then come to my bed,” Conrad said softly, getting to his feet and pulling Eddie up after him, “and never leave it.”

Sure that he was a little high on Conrad’s touch, his closeness, Eddie wrapped his arms back around Conrad’s neck and pressed in close. “I think my boss might have a thing or two to say about that. He’s a real hard ass.”

“Yeah?” Conrad chuckled, kissing him lightly on the lips while running exploring fingers through his hair. “In that case I might let you out every now and then on good behaviour.”

“What happens if I’m bad?”

Conrad paused, as though considering.

“I keep you forever.”

“And what does good get me?”

His smile widened.

“I keep you forever.”

“Sounds like a win win situation,” Eddie murmured, giving a murmur of approval at the soft kisses.

“Doesn’t it just,” Conrad agreed, glancing over Eddie’s shoulder before taking hold of his hips and walking him back until Eddie hit the wall. “Bed can wait,” he said throatily, nimbly undoing the buttons on Eddie’s shirt. “I think I need to know what you taste like. You sure as hell look good enough to eat anyway. Are you, baby?”

Any reply Eddie might have made was lost in Conrad’s mouth as he was kissed again, deeply this time and very thoroughly, Conrad taking ownership just as he had in his office and Eddie could do nothing but cling to him desperately and follow where he led.

“Oh, I think you are,” Conrad said, answering his own question with words that tingled over Eddie’s lips. 

“Connie…,” Eddie groaned, half whine, half plea and Conrad chuckled, rubbing himself firmly over Eddie’s cock. 

“Is all that hard for me, darling?”

“Jesus, Connie, you trying to kill me?”

“No, but I think I am going to have to eat you. I want to know what your come feels like when it hits my tongue.”

“Never figured you for a dirty talker,” Eddie responded, wondering if his sex life was going to be like this from now on - carried along, putty in Conrad’s hands, overwhelmed by him, and decided that if it was, he was not going to be complaining.

“If you remember, there are a lot of things you didn’t know about me.”

“Oh yeah,” Eddie rasped, briefly nuzzling into Conrad’s neck, wanting to know if his skin tasted as good as it looked, “I’m not likely to forget that.”

“That’s my boy,” Conrad murmured, kissing him again and Eddie realised then exactly what Conrad was trying to do as the soft ‘boy’ travelled through his body and headed straight for his cock. He’s going to kill me with sex and take the bar. 

Conrad’s mouth slid down to his nipple and started to gently lap. Eddie moaned.

Let him have it.

Needing contact, Eddie ran his hand through Conrad’s short hair, something he’d always wanted to do, and was amazed to find that it was soft to his touch and silky beneath his fingers. He’d always had a thing about hair and Conrad’s was perfect. A little too short for his liking but definitely perfect.

Thoughts of hair fled when Conrad bit his nipple, teeth acting as the perfect counterpoint to the fingers that were suddenly pinching the other one. It was so good and nowhere near the limits of what he could take. Conrad seemed to be happy playing and that was just fine by Eddie. He drew in a sharp breath at a harder pinch and heard Conrad’s ‘hmmm’ of approval at his reaction.

Then the mouth was on the move again pausing only long enough to kiss the healing wound across his stomach and suddenly Conrad was on one knee, his wicked tongue teasing, dipping below the waistband of his pants and Eddie was sure it was the hottest thing he’d ever seen.

Conrad glanced up at him, clearly aware of the affect he was having. “All those times I’ve seen you naked and I couldn’t touch you,” he said huskily. “It used to drive me wild. I’d look at your ass and wonder what you’d sound like being fucked by my tongue. I’d wonder if I could make you come just from sucking your balls. Do you think I could?” he asked idly, unbuttoning Eddie’s pants, popping each button one by one.

Eddie swallowed heavily, quickly moving past embarrassment at not wearing underwear to being damn glad he hadn’t and wondered whether his voice was going to work.

“I think you could do anything.”

“That’s what I thought,” Conrad said, looking pleased with himself. “Maybe we’ll find that one out later. Right now,” he added, “I want to see if you’re beautiful all over.”

As his pants were peeled back, Eddie felt an uncharacteristic moment of panic, suddenly stupidly afraid that Conrad would not like his dick. He knew he was a good thickness but of only average length and uncut. Christ, what if Conrad hated foreskin? While he knew that Conrad was probably aware that he was uncut from their times in the shower, knowing and sucking where two very different things.

He was so hard that when his cock was released it stood out from his body proudly and the open hunger on Conrad’s face told him that his fears were groundless. 

“Perfect,” Conrad breathed. “More for me to play with too.”

Looking down, holding his breath, Eddie watched Conrad slide his mouth down the entire length of his cock, only stopping when it hit the back of his throat.

Fuck.

Not sure if he had shouted that out load, Eddie gasped as Conrad’s mouth took over. The heat was incredible and he didn’t think he’d ever seen anyone so eager to get his cock in their mouth before, then Conrad moved and Eddie was lost.

Eddie had seen plenty of men on their knees before. Hell, it was one of his own favourite positions but he’d never seen anyone on their knees and still manage to look so damn controlling, so completely in charge as Conrad was right then.

Conrad was taking what he wanted and Eddie was just along for the ride.

The man’s mouth was hot and perfect, demanding and greedy and Eddie knew he was not going to be able to hold out for long. If anyone had told him that a man who was married, and he was sure, faithful, for fifteen years could suck cock like this, he’d have laughed, but the proof was here working him with tongue and throat and, oh God, teeth.

Involuntarily Eddie’s hand went to Conrad’s head, not to encourage, but needing a connection between them and as though reading his mind, Conrad took his own left and threaded his fingers through those on Eddie’s right, squeezing tightly as he pushed it against the wall.

God, yes.

Somehow Conrad’s hand around his was even more intimate than the mouth on his cock. It meant that Conrad wanted a connection too. Conrad cared for him.

Conrad loved him.

Suddenly, Eddie realised that he had not said. He had got carried away by Conrad and somewhere his brain had been left far behind. He had not told Conrad how he felt.

“I love you,” he blurted out, breathlessly. Maybe this was the wrong time, but he didn’t care.

Conrad’s eyes snapped up to him and he released Eddie’s cock, licking his lips.

“Is that all the time,” he asked huskily, “or just now my mouth’s around your dick?”

His green eyes were warm and his voice was a little hoarse from sucking his cock and Eddie thought it was possible he could come from that thought alone.

“Every moment, every day, for as long as I can remember.”

And Conrad clearly had not known that, had not even begun to guess how long Eddie had loved him. The shock briefly reflected on his face and Eddie knew that sometime soon they had a lot of talking to do, but not yet. Definitely not yet.

Briefly, Conrad brought their joined hands to his lips and turned them, kissing Eddie’s palm, before returning them to press against the wall.

“Then this is long overdue.” Conrad moved back in. “I want you to come for me, darling. I want to taste you. Now.”

“God, yes,” Eddie breathed, knowing it would not take much. “Please.”

At his whispered plea, Conrad slid back onto his cock and it only took two sucks and the merest scrape of teeth and Eddie was coming, almost yelling as Conrad swallowed around him hungrily, milking his cock for every drop he could produce and Eddie did not think he had ever felt anyone want him so much.

Breathless and throbbing, Eddie felt himself soften but Conrad didn’t stop. He kept sucking until Eddie was almost screaming. Only then, when Eddie thought he was going to explode with the sensations, did Conrad stop and climb back to his feet.

Pulling their clasped hands up, over his head, Conrad took Eddie’s other one to join it and held him there, just looking at him until Eddie felt he would melt from the heat in his lover’s gaze.

He felt wanton and slutty with his chest bare and his cock out and slowly realised that Conrad was waiting for him, wanting something from him. He also realised, with something akin to shock, that Conrad liked that look on him - liked it very much. Who’d have thought?

“God, Con,” he breathed, looking at his lover through hooded eyes, “fuck me. Please. I need you inside me.”

“Tell me what you need, baby,” Conrad encouraged huskily, cupping his balls with his free hand and squeezing them lightly.

“Ah, God. Your cock. I need your cock in my ass. Hard.”

Sudden and endless possibilities flashed through Eddie’s mind and if Conrad had not said earlier that they were not playing games right now, he’d have called him ‘daddy’ on the spot just to see what affect it would have. Next time, he promised himself, never in a million years dreaming that the Conrad he had known for so long would have turned out to be so wonderfully kinky.

With a whispered ‘yessss’ Conrad claimed him again, kissing him with a mouth that tasted sweet and oh so dirty, and Eddie knew then that he would never be able to get enough of it. Then Conrad was nuzzling his moustache, licking down the line of hair and it was so weirdly erotic that Eddie was sure he wasn’t actually going to make it to the bedroom, if that was what Conrad had in mind. Already his cock was filling again and he thrust himself against his lover, wanting Conrad to feel it.

“Bed. Now,” Conrad growled, releasing his arms.

“Now,” Eddie agreed, fervently, as Conrad pulled him from the room.

This was something Eddie had never suspected, that beneath Conrad’s stern exterior was this energy, this unexpected delight in passion and, more importantly, this burning, freezing, elemental need.

Eddie had always known Conrad was hot - the man was sex on legs, but this side of him was a blazing inferno.

Unbidden, Conrad’s words of three days ago came back to him.

You’re playing with fire.

If this was fire, if Conrad was that inferno, then Eddie wanted it to consume him. Every moment he spent with Conrad made him want it more. 

Burn me.

And, Eddie decided happily right there and then, as Conrad pushed him down onto his bed, that if Conrad was trying to kill him with sex…

Well, there were worse ways to go.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Can I buy you a drink?”

A deep Southern drawl broke Max’s restless thoughts and he looked up to see the last man he ever expected to find in a country music bar.

“Rodney?”

“The very same. Mind if I join you?” Not waiting for a reply, the younger man slipped onto the stool next to him and winced as a new song started up.

Curious, Max took in Rodney’s somewhat alternative appearance. Tattoos were commonplace now but rock tee-shirts, long hair and piercings were a little unusual in their present location. “Aren’t you a little out of place here?”

“You have no idea,” Rodney said fervently, catching the attention of the barman. “Whisky sour, if you please, and whatever my friend here is having.”

The younger man was surprisingly courteous and Max found himself intrigued by the dichotomy of manners and appearance. They had met a couple of times prior before and both Rodney and Eddie had always greeted him warmly instead of the suspicion he had received from the rest of Conrad’s team and Max had took an immediate liking to Conrad’s computer genius.

“Aren’t you a little out of place here yourself?” Rodney asked, his eyes twinkling.

Max shrugged. “Actually, I don’t mind the music so much, the beer is good and it’s not a cop’s bar.”

“Two out of three isn’t bad, I suppose.”

“I can’t imagine me feeling at home in the kind of bars that play your music,” Max responded, eyeing Rodney’s tee-shirt pointedly. “I’m a little past all that noise these days.”

“Max, you would be surprised at the variety of music I like,” Rodney chided mildly. “Never judge the book until you’ve actually read it. I like jazz, opera and blues as well as the obvious.”

“But not country,” Max smiled, as their drinks were delivered.

Thanking the barman, Rodney paid and handed Max his beer. “Never did get the taste for that particular flavour, although generally I am in favour of a little… variety.”

Max thanked him and found himself responding to the man’s smile and what seemed to be a gentle kind of flirting. Beyond the beard, the hair and the piercings there was something very likable about him. Max was also sure that Rodney was not talking exclusively about music.

Unable to help himself, Max found himself comparing Rodney to Conrad. The two men could not have been more different. Conrad was slender, strong and wiry like a man constantly on the run; a man of hidden depths, with secrets and needs. In contrast, Rodney was broad and solid with a ready, easy smile and eyes that sparkled with an obvious love of life. He had the look of a man who enjoyed his days and took the risks in his stride, no matter what they were.

Rodney also had the look of someone who could make him smile, but was he ready for that, so soon after Conrad? 

Max took a long drink of his ice cold beer.

Why the hell not.

Tilting his head as something just occurred to him, Max reflected, “Why do I get the feeling that you weren’t just passing by?”

Rodney took a sip of his drink and smiled. “That might have something to do with the tracker I put on your car this afternoon.”

It was said so calmly that Max laughed out loud at the younger man’s audacity and he realised with a start that he suddenly felt better than he had in days. 

“You bugged me?”

“It seemed like a good idea at the time and it saved me a hell of a lot of bar crawling.”

No one had gone to so much trouble over him in a long time, not even Conrad and Max felt himself relax. Rodney’s southern drawl was very easy on the ears and Max realised that he could happily listen to it all night.

“I might have been out with someone,” he pointed out.

The dark brown eyes sparkled even more. “I think you are.”

“Are you always this direct?” Max laughed.

“Mostly. When you look like I do, people make assumptions, most of them usually wrong. I find directness saves a lot of time and sometimes it even gets me what I want.”

“And what is it… that you want?”

“Share a drink, share some stories. Spend some time with you; maybe get to know you better… if you’ll let me.”

There was something so undemanding about the sound of that, and equally something so warming and unhurried in the younger man’s smile that made Max close the door on Conrad just that little bit tighter. Conrad had his heart’s desire and Max was glad for him. Now it was time to move on.

“Rodney,” he replied, smiling back, “do you like steak?”


End file.
